The One Discipline Horse

[Preposterous_Ponies]

A thread I posted in the eventing got me thinking… do you limit your horse to one discipline? Do you cross train? Do you compete in multiple disciplines?

I have been told by multiple people that my hunter should be just that - a hunter. That she should only know a 12’ stride, that she shouldn’t be going for gallops out on the trails, and that she has too many “buttons”. All of this by riders who compete in the upper levels, and do well.

But I can’t bring myself to do it! My horse is being trained by an eventer, I can’t keep myself off the trails, and quite frankly we don’t always float around the ring on a loose rein.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that a well trained horse should be able to go out and do whatever discipline - perhaps not well, but passably. Yes, I intend to show my hunter on A’s, but I am also tempted to take her to an event or two as well.

Am I completely crazy, or what?

[Cherry]

No, you’re.not crazy! Yoi are.what we, in the horseworld, call a horseman–or horsewoman, as the case may be…

When I went.to look at a little TB mare for.sale I mentioned I’d like to do some dressage with her. Both the thirteen year old owner and her father assured me she didn’t need to know that stuff! :eek: :lol:

Well, I bought her and she finally started carrying herself properly and we had a very good time, while it lasted. Every horse can benefit from dressage!

If my mare hadn’t have injured her knee I would like to have tried her on barrels and cows…

Keep up the good work and the open mind.

[chestnuthunter]

Balderdash.

A well-trained horse should fine with any discipline you ask him to do. He may not be good at it (it might even be a hilarious failure), but he should at least try. Take your hunter trail riding and swimming. Ride your jumper in a western saddle one afternoon. Put your eventer in a hunter class. Try some dressage with your barrel horse. Doesn’t matter!

I really hate the mentality that specialized horses can do one thing and one thing only. Horses are capable of so much more than we think they are. Trying something else isn’t going to “mess them up” or anything, especially at the lower levels.

Henry de Leyer’s Snowman comes to mind. He was a Puissance jumper, but I’ve also seen pictures of him swimming with 4 children on his back.

[Pocket_Pony]

I love to do everything with my horses - dressage, jumping, lots of trail riding, some fun cow stuff - I love it all! I think that part of keeping horses fresh and interested in their work (and sound, too) is mixing it up. I would think only doing one thing would be boring, for us and them!

[rhinestone_cowgirl]

I think it keeps them sharp and interested to try new things once in a while. I recently took my green eventer/fox hunter on a cattle drive and the next day, I had the best cross country lesson ever!

[SugarCubes]

While I don’t compete in other disciplines, I absolutely “cross-train”! I think it keeps things interesting for my horse and also works different muscles! 75% of the time he is a hunter, but we have taken dressage lessons, jumped XC, gone on TONS of trail rides, played broom polo, and I’ve ridden him western!

So I totally agree with you! Have fun having different adventures with your horse

[SidesaddleRider]

All of our horses are A) fox hunters, AND B) show horses (hunters or jumpers). They trail ride/hack out, school x-c, do dressage, etc. They also get turned out in a mixed herd! They are happy horses as a result.

My side saddle horse (2013 USEF nat’l champion and currently leading in 2014) used to be my A/O hunter. He was then leased out to do the Lg Jrs/Eq. Oh, and he has also been the Reserve Champion Virginia Field Hunter 2x, and placed 3rd the last time we were selected to compete in the competition two years ago.

So no, I personally think cross-training is what people should do, and give their horses a break! Dressage horses should hack out and jump some things, hunters should get out of the ring and go x-c, etc. If we like to do different activities, why wouldn’t most horses like to do so as well?

[Lilykoi]

I had Saddlebreds as a kid and they were very versatile. I showed them in traditional stuff, but they also drove, foxhunted, evented and rode Western.
I tried my OTTB mare on cattle and she loved it!
My new QH mare is going Dressage and Western, which I actually find quite compatible. Same old stuff gets boring for us, I imagine it can for our horses too.

[FitToBeTied]

Mine all fox hunt, event and some race. Until about 15 years ago it was not unusual to see a top level eventer out in the hunt field. It is rare now to see that and we never get the show hunters.

[findeight]

Whoever told you a Hunter should just do Hunter stuff and 12’ strides really needs to get out more and associate with better quality horse folk…the ones that know what they are talking about.

[LouBeans]

It blows my mind when I hear things like this, especially from professional riders. I know a gal that was told by her trainer not to take her horse out for gallops anymore because it would “fry her brain.” I was told by a dressage trainer to never let my horse go in anything but a PSG frame, or else he would “learn to get away with stretching down.” ???

I think cross training (for both humans and horses) is so good not only for physical but mental health as well. It also teaches me to back off- instead of drilling the same dressage movements in the ring every day and getting a nicely worried and tense horse, I’ll go for a long trail ride, maybe pop over a small jump, just mix it up. It keeps it fun.

[amm2cd]

While I whole heartedly agree with cross training, every horse is different.I have three dressage horses, and every single one of them is in a different ‘program’.

Pony A enjoys some jumping and trail rides at speed. It helps her relax her tight little pony back. I do take her out to local open shows and play at being a hunter or jumper. The exposure is good for her, and I love the socializing.
Pony B hates jumping. It puts her in a bad place mentally and emotionally. She benefits greatly from quite trail rides to compliment her climb up the levels. I only take her out to locations with great footing and put her in confidence building situations. She’s not as brave as pony A.
FEI Horse likes trail rides in his pasture and hill work. Jumping is not his game and I am certainly not going to take him to open shows or the county fair to play at other disciplines. He doesnt need the off property practice or exposure. His happy place is inside the little white dressage fence. (Lucky me!)

So while cross training receives two thumbs up, I’m not sure every horse needs to become and all-purpose horse.

[amm2cd]

While I whole heartedly agree with cross training, every horse is different.I have three dressage horses, and every single one of them is in a different ‘program’.

Pony A enjoys some jumping and trail rides at speed. It helps her relax her tight little pony back. I do take her out to local open shows and play at being a hunter or jumper. The exposure is good for her, and I love the socializing.
Pony B hates jumping. It puts her in a bad place mentally and emotionally. She benefits greatly from quite trail rides to compliment her climb up the levels. I only take her out to locations with great footing and put her in confidence building situations. She’s not as brave as pony A.
FEI Horse likes trail rides in his pasture and hill work. Jumping is not his game and I am certainly not going to take him to open shows or the county fair to play at other disciplines. He doesnt need the off property practice or exposure. His happy place is inside the little white dressage fence. (Lucky me!)

So while cross training receives two thumbs up, I’m not sure every horse needs to become and all-purpose horse.

[Foxtrot_s]

WE know that a horse needs variety, but there are lot of show barns where the horse does one thing, and one thing only. No turnout, no freedom, just in a stall and training and to the show. Under somebody’s control all the time.

[Training_Cupid]

When I was younger I had a quarter horse mare. She used to be a ranch horse, then her prior owner bought her as a broodmare. I rode her english, and started jumping her and took her to local shows. We also went on trail rides, a few fox hunts, and did dressage and XC through pony club. We also raced across fields, played tag and the occasional game of polocrosse. She lived in a 100 acre pasture. Hard to say if she enjoyed it or not but she was certainly tolerant of all my pursuits and I have very fond memories of this time and am eternally grateful to Dee for putting up with me!

[SharonA]

My horse would blow her top to even read that someone thought she should only do one thing.

[Drive_NJ]

Versatility for the horse is also a bit of job security for his life as well. In the event the horse ever needs a new home, the more different things he can do mean he is marketable in more areas to more people.

Also has more job security with you as well. We bought our guys as trail horses that would drive some. Since then we are less able to ride so driving is more important. Also since then one of the horses survived some serious burns in a barn fire and can no longer be ridden. He can drive and that is now his career. It mattered when we were considering his future after the fire… a 7 year old gelding with serious burns that would probably heal, but would likely never ride again. Fortunately, he made a great comeback and has no keloids or other mobility issues, but the skin on his back will not tolerate a rider. Driving is his career now. Without that possibility when decisions were being made on a long recovery… who knows.

[TWH_Girl]

My horse is a TWH…he is shown saddleseat, and western, and we show and trail ride. He can do fun speed classes like barrels or poles too. So I guess he sort of is multi-discipline, but he’s also a pleasure horse for me to enjoy and we do not compete for money or points, but for fun. I think it depends on your perspective and the reason you are into horses in the first place. A serious competitive horse should probably be one discipline. A pleasure horse can fill many different roles for one person.

[Ibex]

I do know one dressage horse who hated being anything but a dressage horse. Hated the trails. Didn’t want to jump. Didn’t like even being ridden out of something that could be considered a ring. Happy as a clam doing 20m circles all day. Weirdest horse I’ve ever met… :lol:

[Beverley]

Personally I’d be bored to tears sticking to one discipline, never mind the horse! There is something to learn in all of them. All of my horses have just done what I wanted to do, western or English. I did have one successful western pleasure horse, who hated that, and took to foxhunting like a duck to water. He would roll his eyes thereafter when the western saddle went on. I had a friend in the 70s who showed her dressage mare in hunter classes, and did a little eventing, her dressage friends were horrified particularly that the hunter classes would ‘ruin her’ but she did earn her bronze medal just fine. More recently I went hunting with a woman who brought out her competitive dressage horse, and he had a blast.

I think my little mare would ‘tell’ you that if she only had one job for the rest of her life, packing my husband around the arena at the walk, she’d be fine with that. It doesn’t really qualify as ‘work.’ But she does also get a kick out of working cattle, in the arena or out, though mostly we trail ride. She’ll foxhunt one of these days, when I get my act together.